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Revelation of Mar
The Revelation of Mar was an event that occurred in 2DE when two exarchs manifested in the city of Marstep and duelled one another above the city until the spirit Mar revealed his true form as a powerful wind elemental blasting the two divines away from the city. This marks the first interaction between the country of Marn and the exarchs during their ascension and the first time that anyone has actually seen the spirit Mar physically appear to defend the city, a point that has made many speculate as to the meaning behind the whole affair. The Exarchs The two exarchs that appeared above Marstep shared certain similarities in physical appearance but seeming to possess personalities so diametrically opposite to one another that they were compelled to fight one another above the city. The two exarchs have since become known as Serenra and Iaseth, and as far as has been ascertained they are both exarchs of the goddess Sune. Serenra For more information on this exarch, see here. Serenra appeared first over Marstep, seeming to fly upon golden wings gliding gracefully through the streets, in her wake there travelled a feeling of warmth and love for family that sparked dozens of marriage proposals and reuniting of estranged loved ones. She took the form of beautiful angelic figure with white feathered wings and hair that shone like the sun. Each morning with the dawn, Serenra would arrive and greet people as she flew through the city, the various magi and clerics attempting to get her attention, though she was oft distracted by discussions with mothers and wives whom she seemed to have a fascination with. As the sun set she would give a speech in one of the major road intersections about the importance of family and how such bonds would be needed to combat the ancient enemies of the gods. At night she would lodge in the guest rooms of one of the many families she had conversed with during the day, there being no end to the offers of of the sort. Iaseth For more information on this exarch, see here. Iaseth was second to appear but according to some sources arrived before Serenra having infiltrated the city in the guise of a lady of the evening and carrying out such activities with many lovers across the days that her opposite was travelling openly in the city. Like Serenra, Iaseth seemed bring with her an aura matching that of her domain, namely lust, leading to a population spike in the city and a great deal of illegitimate births. She appeared as a beautiful maiden with dark hair and pale skin, with eyes said to ignite the passions in any that she looked upon. Each evening for the whole time that Serenra had been preaching the virtues of family and the bonds of marriage, Iaseth was hosting parties in the homes of the wealthiest people in the city, said to be decadent affairs with many enthralled by her presence, though those that went to such events also recall her whispering thoughts into their minds as they lay in a daze either from substances or some spell she put upon them, spurring them to investing in the acquisition of magical and divine artefacts when before they had shown no interest in such items. The Fight Above the City The Presentation of the Unfaithful The conflict between the two exarchs started as the sun descended below the horizon and Serenra delivered a speech on the bonds of marriage and remaining faithful. As she spoke of such things a number of women and men began accusing their partners of being unfaithful some being forcibly presented to Serenra so that she could determine their guilt. The exarch placed her hands over the hearts of those brought before her and as she went from one to another she grew grim, finally asking them who had corrupted them to be unfaithful to their families seeming to compel them to speak the truth all at once they spoke the name of the women that had seduced them. The Storming of the Grail Palace Seeing how she had been undermined in the city she had come to convert, Serenra decided to find Iaseth and expel her from the city showing the triumph of her words. Her desire to see this infraction punished spurred a number of the crowd that had gathered around her to follow her, eventually forming into a mob of homemakers and housewives. She led them to the Grail Palace, a mansion owned by a wealthy bachelor, the mob creating battering rams of street lights and anything to hand, many of them convinced that their partners were in the building at that moment cavorting with succubi and other such creatures. Inside they found the aftermath of the previous nights' party, the guests only being roused by the banging on the door even that late in the day, those with milder hangovers attempted to make their escape through the back of the building complex, only to be chased through the streets by angry gangs of spouses armed with rolling pins and brooms. Serenra found Iaseth atop a pile of men and women in various states of nudity and conciousness, where she began to inform her fellow exarch the work she was carrying out in the city and how her presence hindered that and their ultimate goal of bringing people together. This first effort was then repeated after Iaseth's own rebuttal until eventually both exarchs were simply screaming at one another speaking in a number of languages, slipping between the two seamlessly. Drawing Blood After the two exarchs were unable to reconcile their differences they took on their true forms as angels that were mirror opposites yet sharing many qualities. They fought in the Grail Mansion, destroying many artworks and valuable relics as they struck out with their divine energies, eventually taking flight above the city after blasting a hole through the roof. The fight took them down to street level at a number of points, the Exemplars and other groups rallying to quell the roaming gangs of followers of both exarchs also being forced to occasionally defend the populace against the two divines at one point the siege engines of the city being used to attempt to end the fight. The Revelation At some point during the two exarchs' fight through and above the city, a number of priests of Mar rallied the people to come several temples throughout the city, buildings that served more civic functions than religious and were commonly used in times of crisis as refuges. As they gathered together the priests and the terrified people prayed to Mar to save them from being taken over by either of the exarchs, knowing that whichever one was victorious in the battle would claim the city as theirs. As they prayed, like thousands of their ancestors before them in times of crisis, the priests, paladins and others attuned to the magicks of the world both divine and arcane felt for the first time a true reply from Mar, who had before only acted subtly sending signs to be interpreted rather than direct communication. This manifested as a swirling vortex above the city and the spirit taking on the form of a humanoid hurricane, his two great hands pushing apart the warring exarchs, the two now united in their effort to defeat the creature whom they recognised as a warrior of the primordial Zessera. With a final effort Mar pulled with colossal force upon all around him, drawing up untethered objects and people from the city below, sucking the two exarchs into a spiralling tunnel of wind that hurled them in different directions across the horizon. As the other items and peoples caught up in the vortex began to fall to the ground Mar dissipated, shooting out across the city slowing the fall of everything that he had pulled up in his efforts to save the city. Interpretations and Aftermath The initial aftermath of the conflict was widespread damage across the city, both from the exarchs themselves and the small scale riots that occurred when followers of either one clashed, though the consensus is that the conflict could have resulted in far wider destruction and the great walls of the city, while superficially damaged, remained intact. What became of greater interest was the appearance of Mar who had always been content to allow the conflicts of the city to resolve, even when greater threats than two exarchs had come to the city for the very purpose of annihilating it. The 'Mar Ascended' Interpretation Many of the more religiously minded in the city took it as proof that Mar was finally declaring himself as being a god, his standing up to the usurpers an assertion of this, though this has been refuted since in none of the teachings of Mar does he declare himself to be a god, quite the opposite in fact as he acknowledges the gods and encourages his followers to learn about them and even consider joining them if they are convinced of its merit. What also discredits this is that Mar has become even more reclusive than before, still providing the protection that he had before the Revelation but no longer sending the signs and messages to his followers and people of the city. Those that hold this belief that Mar is now a god are known as Ascendants. The 'Mar Unveiled' Interpretation Another way in which people have seen this turn of events comes from the learned of the city, specifically the Scholars of Wen who recovered various obscure references to Mar being a spirit of the open steppes that surround Marstep which upon further investigation showed a transformation from a wild raging force of nature into a protective spirit of the country. This reading of the appearance of Mar has gained the most traction as more and more evidence points to Mar having once been an enemy of not only the gods but of the peoples of Farthrone in service of some long forgotten primordial entity. Category:Events Category:Farthrone Category:Exarchs Category:Marn